The late Mary Daly, Conna

The sad passing of Mrs Mary Daly, in December 2009, marks the end of an era. Two sisters, Elsie and Mary Beecher, grew up in Shanbally in the early years of the twentieth century and went on to leave an indelible mark in their native parish. Their contribution to the social life of the community was immense and they will always be remembered for the voluntary work done by them for the betterment of their beloved Conna. They were so much part of the parish scene that their passing leaves a gap that will never be filled.

It is only fitting that we should give a little background information on the lives of these two sisters for the benefit of the younger generation.

Tom Arnold of Shanbally married Mary Downing of Coolrue in Conna church in 1881. Tom was son of William Arnold. His mother was Margaret Carey from Waterpark.  Tom’s brother, Ned, was thrown from a horse near Ballyclough graveyard, Killmagner and was killed. Tom’s sister, May, and brother, Patsy, emigrated to the USA.

Tom and Mary had six children; John, William, Mary (Polly), Margaret, Nora and a stillborn boy.  Only the three sisters, Polly, Margaret and Nora lived into adulthood as John and William died before reaching the age of ten.

Tom Arnold died in 1919 and Mary died in 1938.

 Polly worked in a shop in West Street in Tallow. She bought a shop from Michael Roche in Conna village. The shop was closed at the time and she reopened it as Arnold’s Stores. Michael Roche lived for about a year in the premises until his death. He had served in the Royal Irish Constabulary and had been stationed at Aghern Barracks. He became caretaker of Conna Castle at the turn of the century and kept visitors books, which still survive. As part of his job he often occupied the little two-storey building which once adjoined the castle to the east side. Access to the castle could only be gained through this house.

Polly Arnold’s sister, Margaret, who was two years younger, married Ned Beecher c 1917. Margaret and Ned had two daughters, Elsie and Mary.

The third sister, Nora Beecher married Patrick Colbert from Ballynoe.

Ned Beecher died in 1959 and Margaret died in 1978. Both are buried in Tallow churchyard.

Elsie Beecher succeeded her aunt, Polly, in running the shop in Conna. The latter died in 1965.

Elsie  married Michael Power from Cappoquin. They had two  daughters Marian and Lucy.  The latter died young.

Mary Beecher married Patrick Daly of Ballyduff and lived and worked on the farm in Shanbally. They had one son Eamonn.

The Arnold family of Shanbally is related to the Arnolds of Rathcormac/Bartlemy. Another branch of the clan resided in Longstown, Carrigtwohill.

We have given an insight into Elsie’s life and times in an earlier newsletter, so now we will a few brief details of Mary’s busy life. She grew up in Shanbally but unlike Elsie, who went to Shean National School, Mary attended Conna National School from the start. She had a happy and carefree childhood and was very involved in all aspects of the family farm which she loved. She and her neighbouring friends lead very busy social lives and were regularly seen at local events such as races, matches, concerts etc and their mode of transport was always the bicycle. She recalls one summer morning in 1938, herself and Elsie getting up early and frantically cycling to Ballyduff to catch the train. They just made it in time and travelled to Dublin to see the All-Ireland Hurling Final between Waterford and Dublin. They came home on the train to Ballyduff that evening and cycled home at the end of a long day.

In the 1930’s and 40’s people made their own entertainment and organized hurling and camogie matches, open air dances and all kinds of horse races. Mary’s area was no exception and Shanbally and Kilcoran were noted for their hurling and camogie teams. The local hurlers were called the Kill-Me-Deads and had deadly rivalry with other local teams such as John Mitchells of Currabeha. While the matches were invariably low in skill, they were always high in drama and the spectators got good value for their money and often took an active part in proceedings! More often than not the ball was but of secondary importance. A well known landmark in the area was called Pope’s Cross, better known as Barnearra, and thus the grand title of The Barnearra Kll-Me-Deads came about.

 The ladies played camogie under the name of the Mitchell Maids. Foremost on that team in the 1930’s were Elsie and Mary Beecher, Anna O’ Riordan, Dulcie Flynn, Maggie Sheehan, Eily and Mamie  O’Riordan, Kitty Douglas and Mary Cronin.

Mary always loved her farming and with her husband Paddy ran a successful dairy farm. For many years she was a familiar sight going Conna creamery with the churns of milk in her trailer. Whoever happened to be in front or behind her in the queue was only too happy to load and unload the heavy churns on and off the stand for her.  When creamery matters were attended to, she made her way back to the village where she parked outside Elsie’s little shop. Local and international matters and conflicts were discussed and teased out before she again headed off home.

Mary was especially generous in the amount of time given to others. It was something that perhaps was not obvious at the time but she went out of her way to provide transport for those who did not have any. She constantly brought people shopping, to mass or to visit relatives in hospital. If something needed to be done urgently then Mary would drop what she was doing and come to the rescue without a second thought. To his credit, Paddy was happy to go along with this also.

Mary was not involved as early in Muintir na Tire as Elsie but when she did get involved she took things very seriously. During the 1970’s and 80’s she devoted much of her time to Community Council affairs. The Council was by then an elected body. She was a member of different subcommittees from time to time such as Horticultural Show, Barbeque and Community Care. She also held officer positions for a number of years. In 1978 and ‘79 she was Joint Treasurer with John Finn. In 1980 and ’81 she was Honorary Secretary.  In 1982 and ’83 she held the position of PRO.

Mary Daly was somebody who lived life to the fullest. She was never one to complain about anything, she just got on with things in a cheerful optimistic manner. She accepted everything that came her way, whether good or bad. Her strong unwavering faith got her through many difficult situations. She was a daily mass goer and was Minister of the Eucharist for many years. She also regularly attended prayer meetings.

Mary had a hectic social life. It was rare to find her at home. When she was not visiting Eamonn in Dublin she busied herself with senior citizens activities or Social Centre events.

She also loved going to Knock and Lourdes on pilgrimage and was not adverse to going on outings with the Senior Citizens as well as concerts and various other events.

She packed a lot of living into her life and touched a lot of people through her example, her energy, her positive outlook and her deep faith.

Go ndeana Dia trocaire ar a anam dilis

Tom Finn.